Time To Leave The Nest
by BobWhite
Summary: R&R 2 find out more.
1. Sarah Lyons McMurdo

**Full Summary:**

Sarah Lyons married Jonathan McMurdo. Born into a family of fifteen, Sarah was the baby in the family. She could do no wrong until she met Jonathan. Her life turned upside down shortly after her first daughter was born. What happens when Jonathan is thrown in jail? Will her brother Michael be able to save her this time? And how do the rest of her siblings feel?

**Sarah Lyons-McMurdo:**

**New, York:**

Sarah lay in the hospital bed, remembering the last ten years of her life. She hadn't even seen what was going on until too late. Jonathan had gotten extremely abusive after the birth of their first daughter. Kiera, Jayla and Suzie were living with her siblings in Canada at the moment because, in Sarah's mind, they were safer away from her and Jonathan then with them. Besides, they liked living in Canada with the rest of the family.

My siblings had been trying to get us to move back to Canada for eight months, since I sent the kids up there. I called my daughters every night letting them know that I still loved them and that I would see them soon. My mind drifted back to when I was a child, how my best friend Jack and I were always getting into trouble. Jack's family lived on a small farm just outside of Toronto, where my siblings and I had been born. We had met when my school had a field trip out to his farm to see the dogs that they trained for people that were interested in dog sledding.

Jack and I had stopped talking after I met Jonathan. Jonathan knew that he couldn't stop me from calling my family and talking with them, but he knew that he could stop me from calling Jack. But unbeknownst to Jonathan, Jack was always at the house when I called my siblings and he and I always talked for a few minutes before Michael got back on the phone saying that they had to go to work and that the girls were okay. My heart throbbed to see my daughters, my siblings and Jack again, but if I was to see them, then that would mean that I was admitting what Jonathan had done to me.

I had called Michael two days after waking up in the hospital and asked him to come down to New York. He asked why and I told him that I needed him to help me move home. I could feel the smile on his face when he told me that he would be down the coming weekend. That meant that I wasn't getting out of the hospital until Michael came and picked me up. But I hadn't told Michael that I was even in the hospital or why I was moving home.

Michael had always been protective of me; it was his duty, as big brother of course. Jenna was second to being the baby, but had an attitude that said she was better than anyone who talked to her. Jenna was a rookie at the 15th District in Toronto. She said she could use her attitude for something good. Between Michael and Jenna were Micah, Jonah, Cora, Charlie, Carol, Kristin, Krystal, Jessica, Paige, Mikela, Jason, and Chase. There were two sets of twins in our family. We were also a cop family. Almost every one of my siblings was in law enforcement. Some were cops, some were paramedics and some were firefighters. I was the only one that wasn't in law enforcement. I had yet to figure out what I wanted to do as a career.

Jonathan had made it impossible for me to even have a job. He thought I was best at home taking care of the kids. But when I sent them to live with my family, he got worse then he had been when the kids were living with us. The night I called the cops was the night he tried to kill me. I was on the phone with the police when he walked into the house, he was pissed. I saw him come straight for me and ended up dropping the phone as I ran for my life. I had seen the gun in his hand and knew what he was planning on doing.

I never made it out of the room before he pulled the trigger and put a bullet in my shoulder. I hit the ground and lapsed unconscious before he could shoot me again. I hadn't been able to scream but that didn't matter much since the sound of the gun going off had gotten the attention of the neighbors. He wasn't able to get out of the house before the cops and medics arrived. Jonathan was arrested and I was taken to the hospital. Two days later I called Micahel.

Moving Home:

Michael called me to tell me that he was in the city and to give him the address of where I was. Instead I gave the phone to my doctor who explained that I was in the hospital and that I was in good enough shape to be discharged, that I just needed someone to pick me up. He gave Michael the address and name of the hospital then handed the phone back to me. I told Michael that I was okay and that this was the reason I wanted to move home.

Micahel was at the hospital in record time and was in my room before no long. He crossed the room in two strides and embraced me in a hug. I held on to him not wanting to let go, but knowing that in order to move on, I had to let go. I was his baby sister; there was no way he hadn't known that this was going on. When he pulled away and I saw the tear that had come loose from his eye, I knew that he had nearly had a heart attack driving over here. I told him that I wanted him to be the first to know, that we could tell the rest of the family once I was situated back home.

Michael told me that Jack was pondering him for information on me and wanted to know if he could take me out on a date when I got back home and settled. Of course, Jack was the only one who knew what I needed in any kind of time in my life. A date with Jack meant we would be going dog sledding. That was my favorite past time with Jack. If we weren't getting into trouble, we were dog sledding on the tundra just for the fun of it.

I smiled at Michael and told him I would think on it, but that I wanted to get out of the hospital and back to real life as soon as possible which meant I would be helping him with the packing. With my arm in a sling and me in a wheelchair (as was hospital policy) Michael rolled me out of the hospital after signing my discharge papers. He helped me into his truck and we headed to the house. Jonathan was in Riekers. He wouldn't be getting out any time soon. Attempted murder normally meant 10-15 years in jail (I think).

We drove to the house, backing up to the garage and with the help of my neighbors, we had the house packed up and loaded into the back of Michael's truck and my trailer that I had used to move down ten years ago. Everything of value was in the back seat of Michael's truck and we both had our passports in the middle console of the truck. I grabbed a pillow and blanket and put them up front with me before getting into the truck and letting Michael hook the trailer to the truck. I told my neighbors goodbye. We had only been renting the house and I had called the landlord and told him that I was moving out that weekend. He didn't even have to ask why. He had been to the hospital with the lease papers and said that he would find someone else to rent the house.

I thanked the landlord, told him that the months rent was in the flower pot on the fire place and then Michael and pulled out of the driveway and headed home. Michael told me that it was going to be a long ride home so I might as well get some sleep. He turned some music on and I put the pillow next the window, pulling the blanket over my body and fell asleep to the sound of the music from the radio. By the time I woke up, we had crossed the boarder of Canada and were about an hour away from home. I looked over at Michael and noticed that he seemed worried about me (probably had something to do with why I was in the hospital and Jonathan). So I asked him about it.

When I spoke up, Michael jumped cause he thought I was still asleep. He answered with a question for me. He wanted to know how long the abuse had been going on and if it was the reason I sent the girls to live with them. I answered that yes, it was the reason and that the abuse started shortly after Kiera was born. The look in his eyes told me that he was pissed at himself for not seeing it. That if he had known, he would have intervened and brought me home. I told him it was the past and that I had a new life to look forward to with the family and the girls. He understood. Besides, I wasn't in the mood to argue at the moment.

Before we went home, we stopped at the 15th to see Jenna and Michael wanted me to make a formal complaint with the courts and get the divorce papers started. When we walked into the Barn, Jenna was at a desk sitting next to McNally. She looked up and the second she saw me, she was up and hugging me. Michael hadn't told any of our siblings that I had been in the hospital so Jenna was surprised to see the sling. Her face said it all. I told her I would tell the family later, when not so many cops were around. She reminded me that the whole family was law enforcement so she better spill now. I told her that I wanted to tell the whole family together and she understood.

We left the 15th ten minutes later and headed to Michael's house. I would be staying with them in there guest house until I was able to buy my own house. I had cancelled all the bank accounts and credit cards from when I was living in New York and had all my money in an envelope in my purse. We had done all that after packing and leaving the house. In total, I had been able to save up almost $1,000,000 American dollars. When converted to Canadian dollars: $988,637.09. That would be enough to buy me a house for the girls and me to live in and have plenty of money left over.


	2. The Lyons Family

**The Lyons Family:**

_**Italics:**_ Siblings names; **Reg:** In-laws and nieces/nephews

_**Michael**_** Lyons:** 46, father of seven, fire chief in the 15th District, oldest brother.

**Jessica Lyons:** 45, wife of Michael, mother of seven, secretary at a dentist office.

**Nola Lyons:** 20, daughter of Michael & Jessica, paramedic in 17th District.

**Alisha Lyons:** 18, daughter of Michael & Jessica; Job: Veterinarian

**Keoke Lyons:** 16, son of Michael & Jessica; Job: volunteer fireman

**Viktor Lyons:** 14, son of Michael & Jessica, twin of Via; writer

**Via Lyons:** 14, daughter of Michael & Jessica, twin of Viktor; painter

**Cathaline Lyons:** 12, daughter of Michael & Jessica; anime drawer

**Seija Lyons:** 10, daughter of Michael & Jessica.

_**Micah**_** Lyons:** 42, father of six, paramedic in the 15th District.

**Jordan Lyons:** 40, wife of Micah, mother of six, teacher.

**Mischa Lyons:** 18, daughter of Micah & Jordan; Job: cop.

**Johna Lyons:** 16, son of Micah & Jordan; Job: fire fighter.

**Rekai Lyons:** 14, daughter of Micah & Jordan; Job: paramedic

**Talia Lyons:** 12, daughter of Micah & Jordan; Job: paramedic

**Reyna Lyons:** 10, daughter of Micah & Jordan.

**Loren Lyons:** 8, son of Micah & Jordan.

_**Jonah**_** Lyons:** 38, father of four, cop at the 17th District.

**Joanna Roberts-Lyons:** 38, wife of Jonah, mother of four, teacher.

**Eyeon Lyons:** 17, daughter of Jonah & Joanna; Job: teacher.

**Mareko Lyons:** 15, son of Jonah & Joanna; Job: cop.

**Raven Lyons:** 13, daughter of Jonah & Joanna; Job: writer.

**Ravi Lyons:** 10, son of Jonah & Joanna.

_**Cora**_** Lyons-Robertson:** 36, mother of five, triplet of Charlie & Carol; cop at the 27th District.

**George Robertson:** 37, husband of Cora, father of five, teacher.

**Boyana Robertson:** 14, daughter of Cora & George; Job: cop.

**Nikolai Robertson:** 10, son of Cora & George.

**Hemi Robertson:** 8, son of Cora & George.

**Mikita Robertson:** 5, daughter of Cora & George.

**Cherise Robertson:** 2, daughter of Cora & George.

_**Charlie**_** Lyons:** 36, father of four, triplet of Cora & Carol, Detective at the 27th District.

**Hannah Lyons:** 36, wife of Charlie, mother of four, Photojournalist.

**Anna Lyons:** 10, daughter of Charlie & Hannah.

**Ariel Lyons:** 8, daughter of Charlie & Hannah.

**Jayda Lyons:** 6, daughter of Charlie & Hannah.

**Juan Lyons:** 4, son of Charlie & Hannah.

_**Carol**_** Lyon-Jackson:** 36, mother of four, triplet of Charlie & Cora paramedic in the 27th District.

**Dante Jackson:** 38, husband of Carol, father of four, Lawyer.

**Mitko Jackson:** 15, daughter of Carol & Dante; Job: cop.

**Lilyan Jackson:** 13, daughter of Carol & Dante; Job: lawyer.

**Rumen Jackson:** 10, son of Carol & Dante.

**Tatyana Jackson:** 6, daughter of Carol & Dante.

_**Kristin**_** Lyons-Ponderosa:** 34, mother of three, twin of Krystal, paramedic in the 17th District.

**Austin Ponderosa:** 36, husband of Kristin, father of three, Journalist.

**Dean Ponderosa:** 13, son of Kristin & Austin; drawer/sketcher.

**Ivan Ponderosa:** 10, son of Kristin & Austin; has Autism.

**Hank Ponderosa:** 5, son of Kristin & Austin.

_**Krystal**_** Lyons-Olson:** 34, mother of three, twin of Kristin, fire fighter in the 17th District.

**Terry Olson:** 35, husband of Krystal, father of three, dentist.

**Tamara Olson:** 12, daughter of Krystal & Terry; swimmer.

**Ariella Olson:** 8, daughter of Krystal & Terry.

**Mei Olson:** 4, daughter of Krystal & Terry.

_**Jessica**_** Lyons-Petrowski:** 33, mother of two, twin of Paige, cop at the 27th District.

**Sergei Petrowski:** 34, husband of Jessica, father of two, teacher.

**Kameena Petrowski:** 8, daughter of Jessica & Sergei.

**Zelaya Petrowski:** 4, daughter of Jessica & Sergei.

_**Paige**_** Lyons-Petardi:** 33, mother of two, twin of Jessica, cop at the 17th District.

**Marius Petardi:** 34, husband of Paige, father of two, Photographer.

**Marcel Petardi:** 6, son of Paige & Marius.

**Eva Petardi:** 3, daughter of Paige & Marius.

_**Mikela**_** Lyons-Gables:** 31, mother of one, fire fighter in the 17th District.

**Markus Gables:** 32, husband of Mikela, father of one, teacher.

**Mathias Gables:** 6, son of Mikela & Markus.

_**Jason**_** Lyons:** 30, father of one, fire fighter in the 15th District.

**Macaylah Lyons:** 29, wife of Jason, mother of one, dentist assistant.

**Jerry Lyons:** 8, son of Jason & Macaylah.

_**Chase**_** Lyons:** 29, father of two, fire fighter in the 15th District.

**Cara Lyons:** 29, wife of Chase, mother of two, radio host.

**Krista Lyons:** 4, daughter of Chase & Cara.

**Ellie Lyons:** 2, daughter of Chase & Cara.

_**Jenna**_** Lyons:** 27, single mother of one, rookie at the 15th District.

**Rebecca Lyons:** 4, daughter of Jenna; father unknown.

_**Sarah**_** Lyons-McMurdo:** 26, mother of three; dog sledding.

**Kiera McMurdo:** 8, daughter of Sarah; writing.

**Jayla McMurdo:** 6, daughter of Sarah; horses.

**Suzie McMurdo:** 4, daughter of Sarah; puppies.


	3. And Friends

…**And Friends:**

**Jack Slocum:** 28, best friend of Sarah Lyons, owns & operates a Dog Sled Rescue Group.

**Andy McNally-Swarek:** Jenna's friend and one of her TO's; married Sam one year ago.

**Traci Nash-Barber:** Jenna's friend and one of her TO's; married Jerry one year ago.

**Jerry Barber:** Detective, Traci's husband; friend of Micah.

**Dov Epstein:** Jenna's friends and one of her TO's; married Sue Tran one year ago.

**Chris Diaz:** Jenna's friend and one of her TO's; married Gail one year ago.

**Gail Diaz:** Jenna's friend and one of her TO's; married Chris one year ago.

**Sam Swarek:** Beat cop, friend of Jason's, Andy's husband.

**Arnold Jackson:** Jenna's boyfriend


	4. Starting Over

**Starting Over:**

**97 Parkside Drive:**

When looking for a house, we started in the same neighborhood Michael lived in as did almost everyone in my family. Almost all of my siblings lived on Parkside Drive, so we looked there for a suitable house for me and my kids. I need at least $800,000 to even think about buying a house on Parkside Drive since that was the set range. Michael and I ended up passing by a house as we drove to his house that day that was worth $849,000 dollars. It was a good thing that I had managed to save $1,000,000 American dollars. Saving was the easy part. Jonathan hadn't known about that bank account because I had set it up when I first moved to New York, before meeting him and when I had worked as a high school teacher.

When converted to Canadian dollars I ended up with: $988,637.09. We stopped by the house at 97 Parkside Drive and called the realtor and asked if she minded coming by and giving a tour real quick. She was there in ten minutes, having been at another house she was selling. She gave us the tour and asked if we liked it. I told her that it would be perfect and asked her how she wanted the payment. She said a check would be great. I told her that she would have the check on Tuesday since I wanted to get moved in right away. She asked if my husband was going to be staying there as well. Both Michael & I realized that she though that we were married. We laughed a little before telling her that we were siblings and that I was moving home from New York. I had to get a bank account set up here before I could pay for the house. She understood and said that she would get in contact with the owners.

We thanked her and continued on to Michael house, which was just one block away. Once at the house, Micahel back the truck into the driveway and shut the engine off. He got out and helped me out, knowing that I was still stiff from being in the truck all day. We had made the 494.10 miles in 10 hours. We had taken the I-81N all the way and with a few small breaks we had made it a little over the time we had wanted to be home. I had lived in the Bronx and it had been easy to get out. Yes, I still had friends there and yes I would still keep in touch with them, I just needed to come home for the time being.

**Michael's House:**

Michael had inherited his house from our parents when they died and being that our family was big, there were enough rooms for his kids as well as mine, which is where my three daughters had been living. Jessica and the kids were home of course because it was still Saturday when we got there. Of course it was around seven at night and the kids were doing there chores. When we walked into the house, it was like a zoo. Michael & Jessica's oldest daughter Nola was the first to see me, who her father had told her he was going to get. She stopped vacuuming and came up to me, hugging me. The rest of the kids did the same and it took only five minutes for my kids to realize that I was there. They also stopped what they were doing and came running to me yelling mommy.

Tears sprang to my eyes as they ran to me and hugged me. I hugged back as best I could. When Nola asked what happened to my shoulder, Kiera pulled back. She looked from me to Michael and asked the one question that told Michael that they had been keeping it a secret from him. She asked if daddy had hurt me again. All I did was nod. She didn't have to ask where her father was because she already knew. Jessica came out of the kitchen about that time and hugged first Michael and then me, then announced that dinner was ready. The kids ran to the kitchen and finished setting the table.

Dinner:

Dinner at Michael's felt like dinner when we were younger. There were twelve of us at the table now unlike the seventeen of us that sat at the table when we were younger. Michael and Jessica managed to keep the younger kids in line by having them set in the middle of the table next to the older kids. Kiera, Jayla & Suzie sat next to me, happy to have me there with them. For the time being, I would get my old room which had been in the attic. Since I was the baby of my siblings, I had left the house last, and had free-range of rooms to pick from. I had kept some of my stuff in the attic when I left, including a small twin sized bed that I had used while living there.

The attic hadn't been touched when Michael inherited the house so I knew that I would at least have that room. Kiera shared a room with her cousin Seija and Jayla and Suzie shared there room. Being from a big family and knowing that the family would be there for Sunday supper meant that this house was going to be really packed tomorrow. Michael & Jessica always had Sunday supper at there house since it was the biggest. Besides, it being summer and all the kids being out of school, meant that we could eat dinner outside, on the picnic tables. Michael was the best Barbequer in our family so that would mean that he would be Barbequing tomorrow for dinner.

Dinner was mostly eaten in silence as no one really knew what to say to me. As for my daughters, they were just happy to see me again, since they had not seen me in eight months. They wanted to ask what happened to make me move up here with out daddy, but Kiera had told the younger of her sisters that daddy had hurt mommy again so that was why. Kiera, being my oldest daughter, had said that she didn't want to live with daddy anymore and I had sent them here to keep them from being hit. Kiera, Jayla and Suzie hadn't told there aunts and uncles what had really been going on in the house not knowing if they should or not.

When dinner was over, the dishes had been done and the food had been put away, all the kids went there separate ways, being that it was almost time for bed anyways. Saturdays were house cleaning day so no one was aloud to go anywhere, unless they had to work. Nola was only a substitute paramedic and only came in when they called her. She had a second job at a local book store, but got the weekends off.

Talking:

As soon as all the kids had been put to bed and the older kids were reading or doing something in there rooms, Michael helped me bring some of the important things into the house and put them in his study. Jessica had popped some popcorn and set down on the couch in the living room and waited for the two of us to join her. When all three of us were sitting in the living room, Jessica spoke up first.

"It is good to see you Sarah. It's been almost eight months since the last time we saw you and the kids were wondering when you were coming home. Michael was ecstatic when you called him and asked him to come help you move home. And he's already told me that you're going to be buying the house down the street. That's good for you, but we need to talk about the reason you're moving home and the reason your arm is in a sling."

"I know. Michael asked me how long it had been going on and that if the kids knew what was going on. I told him that they did and that it had been going on since after Kiera was born. I wanted to talk to the whole family, all of my siblings together and then answer the questions all at once. Tomorrow seems like a good as time as any to talk to the family. I know its Sunday dinner, but that's when the whole family is here. And besides, everyone lives on this street anyways, like almost right next to each other too."

"Fine if you want to talk tomorrow, that's fine but I know Michael was worried about you when he talked to that doctor. He got off the phone with the doctor and called me to tell me you were in the hospital. I was on the phone with him and I could hear it in his voice. He was angry with you but also worried that something really bad had happened. You need to start talking to your family about what is going on. In the ten years you lived in New York and the nine years you were married to Jonathan, we got one phone call a month and we knew that Jack had to be here. Speaking of which, I've invited him for Sunday Dinner. Hope you don't mind, but I knew you needed to have a friend here as well as your family. Besides, Jack tells me he wants to take you out on a date. Have you considered it?" _Jessica__inquired._

"Yes, yes I have. But I need my arm to be healed before I start dating anyone. And the divorce needs to get started. I'm going to the bank on Monday and setting up a checking account so I can buy the house down the street, then I'm going to go to Dante and have him draw up the divorce papers and send them to Jonathan in Riekers and tell him he needs to sign them. When he sends them back, I'll sign them and give them to Dante to submit to the courts and hopefully I'll be divorced within the next month or two. As soon as I have a checking account I'm going to take the exact amount of money out in the form of a cashiers check and give it to the realtor and buy the house, then we'll be out of your hair and into our new house. I've got plans and I need to start looking for a job as soon as I'm done with everything of importance. Then, maybe, I'll start dating again."

"Well, I know Jack wouldn't mind dating you again. You guys were so tight before you moved to New York. Come on, we should probably get some sleep as well. Have a good rest Sarah and we'll see you tomorrow morning. You still drink your tea with sugar right?" _Michael__finished._

"Yes, that's all I basically drink now. Jonathan didn't allow me to drink coffee seeing as how it was his favorite drink. I didn't mind, tea is better than coffee any day. Good night Michael, good night Jessica."

"Good night."

Michael and Jessica headed to there room and I headed to the attic to my room. For the first time in a long time I felt safe. Tomorrow I would have to face the rest of my family and answer the questions they were going to ask about how long the abuse had been going on. Tomorrow was going to be a hard day for not only me, but the rest of my family.

**Sunday Dinner With The Family:**

When I woke up the next morning, Kiera, Jayla and Suzie were sitting on the small couch in my room. I'd forgotten what a real nights sleep felt like. I hadn't had one in nearly ten years. Seeing my daughter's sitting on the couch with Kiera reading a book to them made me smile. I sat up and moved towards the bathroom to take a bath. I couldn't yet get my shoulder wet so I was only able to take a bath. When I was done and dressed and my hair and teeth done, I went back to my bed and with the help of Kiera, made the bed. Right before we headed down for breakfast, which was actually brunch since it was now 11:30 am, I put the sling back on.

I followed my daughters out of my room and downstairs. The house had been built upwards when we had been growing up to accommodate for all the people living in it. And that had been before our house had been deemed 'of historical value' and we were unable to build anymore. We could fix up the inside to what the kids wanted but we couldn't do anything that would harm the 'historical' part of the house. This meant, because the house had an old rustic Victorian look to it, it had to stay that way. We could make improvements on the outside, say if the roof needed fixing or what not, but nothing major.

Jessica was in the kitchen making lunch. Because the family was normally all up around 5am, they normally ate at 6am. Jessica smiled when we walked in and handed me a cup of tea.

"Michael got into the trailer and got the box labeled kitchen out and found your tea and sugar in one big tea box. I would love to know where you got that tea box. It is very nice looking."

"Thank you. And I got it from The World Market. I don't know if they have one up here, but I shopped there monthly for the food we needed and whatever I deemed necessary. Jonathan didn't mind that I shopped there since he also liked shopping there. Brunch looks good, can I help?"

"Of course you cannot. You are still recuperating. Michael is in his study."

"Thanks Jessica. I guess I'll see you later then."

"You will."

I maneuvered out of the kitchen, zigzagging between kids and headed for Michael's study. None of the kids were allowed in his study as it was mostly for work and what not. All of us (his siblings) were allowed in it as it was the one spot we could all talk, without being interrupted by the kids. I found Michael sitting in his chair on the computer, looking up something he hadn't been able to do since coming to get me in New York. I cleared my throat and he looked up and around. When he saw me, he stood up and walked over to me. He gave me a hug and then motioned for me to sit on the couch.

We sat down together and he looked me up and down before starting in on what he was going to say to me.

"So, I called everyone and let them know that you wanted to talk with all of us and also let them know that you were in the hospital. Jenna I think was the only one who seemed like she didn't want you here but that's her; always has to be better then everyone around her. She's bringing her boyfriend with. Apparently he's a very nice man. Is there anything you want to tell me before they all start showing up? You know our family; they show up hours before the actual dinner happens just to talk and all. So?"

"Nothing, except thank you for coming to get me. I know you normally have plans on the weekends since you don't work and I'm sorry for pulling you away from them. Does the family still bank with the same bank as when we were kids?"

"Yeah, I think so. I mean we all have bank accounts at the same bank."

"Good, then I want to go there on Monday and get an account and buy that house we saw."

"Alright. Um, I think Eyeon doesn't have anything to do. You can ask her to take you if you like."

"That would be great. How are Kristin and Austin handling Ivan and his Autism?"

"They are doing as well as can be expected. Ivan has shown some interest in horses and has become very attached to Jayla, who can't stop talking about horses."

"Well, Ivan always grows attached to a person every few months. But Jayla does seem more happy then when I dropped them off eight months ago. They all do. I do thank you for taking Kiera, Jayla and Suzie in. I don't know who else would have the room if you hadn't taken them in."

"That's what big brothers are for. And you might want to get used to everyone yelling at you tonight when you talk to them. They all seemed pretty worried when I told them that you had been in the hospital when I picked you up."

"As is to be expected. So, when is Jack showing up?"

"I knew there was a smile on your face other than being with family. He said he'd be here around one and that he was bringing a surprise for you and the kids. Something to do with a sled or something like that."

I smiled as I knew exactly what he'd meant by it. "I'm sure it'll be a great surprise. Brunch smells good. How 'bout we go get something to eat."

"Sounds good to me baby sister."

"That's not even a little funny."

"You'll always be my baby sister whether you like it or not. We'll get the rest of the stuff unpacked when you buy that house. I'm surprised you were able to save as much money as you did without Jonathan ever finding out."

"It was easy. When we got married I just never told him about it. And when he did find out, I told him that you wanted me to save some of your money down here and he backed off almost immediatley. He wasn't wanting to touch your money."

"Good lie sister."

"I know, wasn't it?"

We walked out of the study and noticed the kids setting the table. It was now noon and Brunch was being served. Michael put a supportive arm around my shoulders as if to say 'you should've come to me sooner, I would have helped'. I knew what my siblings were going to say. Nobody picked on there baby sister and got away with it. And nobody sure as hell beat on there baby sister and got away with it. It was a good thing Jonathan was in jail because if he wasn't, my siblings would probably hunt him down and kill him.

Brunch was eaten in silence. The kids knew that today wasn't just any ordinary Sunday dinner. There Aunt Sarah was home and all of there aunts and uncles were going to be going into the Study to talk with her once they were all here. The Study was a place no child was aloud. It was for the adults only. The tension could be felt in that room as everyone ate there brunch in silence, there eyes darting around the table wondering who was in trouble and who wasn't.

Everyone Arrives:

Jack was the first to arrive. He came into the house hollering hello and the kids were the first to run to him. I was with Jessica in the kitchen doing the dishes and getting everything ready for the dinner that night. Michael had decided to grill some steak and hotdogs for the younger kids. We had set bowls of chips and dip, platters of vegetables, cheese and dips out on the table and had popped some popcorn and put it on the table as well. With only one arm, I was pretty limited so I just opened the bags and made the popcorn while Jessica put the bowls and platters on the table. All the kids were entertaining themselves, getting the game systems set up in the Game Room one floor up.

When Jack walked into the kitchen and saw the sling, his face turned from happy to seeing me to worrying about me. The second I saw the frown I told him he better turn it upside down or fear the wrath of me and my fist. That always got him smiling. I told him he would hear about it later and asked about the surprise. He laughed; Michael could never keep a secret from me when it concerned Jack. He nodded to Jessica and then grabbed my hand, pulling me outside to his truck.

The rest of my siblings were walking down to Michael's house from there houses. Good thing about living on the same street, you didn't have to drive to family get-togethers. Jenna was the only one that lived in an apartment and that was because she needed to get to work early, being a rookie and all. I had taken my sling off and stuffed it into the pocket of the sweatshirt I was wearing. Jenna was the only one that had seen the sling so I didn't want to upset the rest of my siblings any.

Jack opened the back of his truck and wouldn't you know it, out jumped Kumi and her brother Jep. The dogs I had raised when I was growing up. Jack looked at me and saw the smile that turned into a gasp as soon as they jumped out. The look in my eyes told him that it was a good surprise. The dogs were jumping around, barking at me as if asking where I had been. I bent down and pet Kumi, who licked my face. Jep was sniffing my arm as if asking why I was favoring it.

I saw Micah, Jonah, Cora, Charlie, Carol and there families walking down with the food they were bringing. They walked past us knowing that there would be time for talk later but all nodded at me and then went inside. Jack was laughing, saying it was good to see me smiling again. We walked into the house with Kumi & Jep following us. But because I was still married, we really couldn't do anything. I wanted to go out on a date with him, but I needed the divorce to be finalized. Since Dante was going to be there, I was going to ask him about drawing up the papers and getting the proceedings started.

Kristin, Krystal, Jessica, Paige, Mikela and there families showed up around 1:30 and people were still hugging me around two when Jason, Chase, Jenna and there families walked in. Jenna noticed that I wasn't wearing my sling and mentioned it almost immediatley, which brought Michael in from the backyard.

"Excuse me little sister, but where in the world is your sling and why are you not wearing it?" _Jenna__asked.__The__rest__of__my__siblings__looked__at__me__and__Michael__walked__in._

"You know what the doctor said Sarah. Put your sling back on or I will drive you to the hospital myself and check you in. Your arm needs time to heal. Do it!" _Michael__instructed__in__his__big__brother__attitude__and__I__pulled__the__sling__from__the__pocket__and__put__it__back__on__after__taking__my__sweatshirt__off.__My__siblings__wanted__to__know__what__had__happened._

"I left Keoke and Johna in charge of the barbeque. Everyone into the Study, you too Dante."

"What did I do?" _Dante__asked__appalled._

"Nothing, but we need a legal point of view for a few questions and you're the family lawyer so lets go."

"Okay."

We all headed into the Study and Michael sat in his computer chair. The Study had always been big enough for the Lyons siblings to sit comfortably in. Michael always put extra chairs in the Study whenever we wanted to 'talk'. Jack had walked in as well, knowing I was going to need all the support I could get. Then the talking began.

Finally Talking:

Jack and I sat on the couch and he took hold of my hand. He was there supporting me like he always had. The rest of my siblings walked in and all sat down. Their husbands and wives would take care of the kids while they were talking. Charlie spoke up first.

"So, Sarah, how long has this been going on? How long was Jonathan beating you?" _Charlie__asked._

"Yea, sure we can get right to the point if ya'll want."

"Sarah, this isn't something to joke about. You could have been seriously injured not to mention if the girls had been there." _Kristin__said._

"But the girls weren't there. Why do you think I sent them up here in the first place, I wanted them to be safe."

"And you didn't want yourself to be safe?" _Krystal__asked._

"That was different. If I had left Jonathan, he would have come up here and dragged me back to New York, kicking and screaming, but still. And he could have claimed kidnapping charges and taken the girls away from me. What I do know about the law helped me survive. What I didn't almost got me killed."

"That still doesn't answer Charlie's question let alone the rest of ours. We all want to know how long the abuse has been going on." _Mikela__said._

"Fine, I'll answer the question. It started shortly after Kiera was born and kept escalating."

"Any other times he has seriously hurt you other than shooting you in the back?" _Michael__asked.__My__siblings__looked__at__me__at__that__question.__They__hadn't__been__told__that__I__had__been__shot,__just__that__I__had__been__in__the__hospital.__The__looks__on__there__faces__made__it__look__like__they__were__even__more__worried__than__before.__Even__Jenna__looked__worried,__and__she__was__the__one__with__the__attitude._

"When I was pregnant with Jayla, he beat me with a baseball bat and when I was pregnant with Suzie, he threw me down a flight of concrete stairs. Amazingly all I did was break my wrist, in the same place both times. He ended up taking me to the doctor and said that I tripped down the stairs and that something was wrong with my wrist. The doctors were never able to do anything and the cops were never called."

"Did he ever hurt the girls?" _Chase__asked._

"That's why I brought them up here to stay with Michael. He came home one night and Kiera was sitting in front of the TV watching the cooking channel (something she had to do for a school assignment) and he lashed out at her. I got in the way before he could really hurt her and told him that she needed the TV for a school assignment. He calmed down after that and went to the garage. I guess he'd rather be in the garage then with us in the house."

"I was wondering why Kiera wouldn't go near the TV for the longest time after the girls got here." _Micahel__said._

"So what happens now?" _Jason__asked._

"Why exactly am I here?" _Dante__asked._

"I need some legal advice. I need you to draw up some divorce papers and I need to know what kind of legal standing I have when filing for full custody of the girls."

"Well that's an easy one. Since Jonathan tried to kill you and has hurt you in the past, and if you never pressed charges against him that means the cops were never brought into the situation, you should be able to get full custody of the girls. Since you're from Canada, he can't say that you kidnapped the girls since he agreed that they could live here till you or him came and got them and you came up here to live after the girls had already been here for eight months. And with the divorce and all, you can send the papers to him and have him sign them, or you can go to the courts directly and ask for a divorce since your husband is in jail in a different country (meaning the US)*."

**(*AN-I don't really know if that is true or not, but it fits for this story, so it stays.)**

"How long would the divorce take?"

"For a normal divorce, maybe three to six months, but because your divorce is so out of the ordinary and it's because your husband tried to kill you, the divorce will probably take less than a month, if you get a sympathetic judge and all."  
>"That's good to know. I want to get back into the swing of things, get my life back on track and the hell away from anything to do with Jonathan. Though his parents did understand why I threw him in jail and asked if they could send the kid's presents on there birthdays and Christmas. I told them that I would get back to them on those subjects, that I would need time to settle in and all. I'm not too keen on letting them have anything to do with Jonathan's family, though they do have the right to send things to them."<br>"That would have to be in accordance to what the judge says. If he allows you full custody and because they are your husband's parents, they may be banned from sending them things unless you allow it. But they would never be allowed to see the kids because there would be a possibility of them taking the kids."

"That's good to know. So, I ask again, what do we do now?"

"We go eat dinner and then tomorrow, you get to start living again." _Jack__said._

"That sounds like a good idea. Is your offer still on the table Jack?"

"What offer?" _My__siblings__asked__at__the__same__time.__They__were__all__looking__at__us,__trying__to__figure__out__what__we__were__talking__about._

"He asked me to join him in running his dream business, the Dog Sled Rescue Group. Why do you think I helped raise Kumi and Jep? They were two of the dogs I used to dog sled with."

"Okay, if you start working with Jack, we really will never see you again. You'll be on the sleds twenty-four-seven like you were when you were in school." _Jessica__said._

"Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just that you have kids now." _Chase__said._

"Who do you think is going to teach them to dog sled? It sure as hell ain't you guys. They'll love helping raise the dogs and puppies that need to be bottle fed. Jack's the reason I never got into trouble as a kid. That and the fact that I was the youngest in a cop family."

"You know, she does have a point." _Jason__said._

Everyone got up at the same time, Jack helping me stand and keeping hold of my hand. He wasn't going to let anything bad happen to me now that we were together again. I had a job working with the animals I loved and my best friend. Tomorrow would be a new day, tomorrow would bring the bank, buying the house, getting the divorce papers started, and moving into the house. But for now, there was dinner with the family, games afterwards, and then sleepovers for those that needed rides into work the next day.

Dinner:

My siblings and I walked out of the Study together. The kids were setting the picnic tables and putting awnings over the tables just in case it decided to pour like the weather channel had said it would. The kids were all happy to see me and there parents once again smiling. They would learn later from there parents what was wrong with Aunt Sarah's arm and why it was in a sling that day.

My girls were laughing with there cousins and having a good time. This is what I missed. I missed being around my family and seeing my girls laughing. I missed feeling free and I missed having my siblings around to support me. I was the baby in the family and always would be. When dinner was over and the food was put away and the kitchen cleaned up, the real fun began. It was Sunday, which meant a lot of the family had to work the next day. Being summer, the kids were out of school but that didn't mean that they also didn't have a place to go.

Michael brought out the sports equipment and everyone headed out to the front of the house. The backyard wasn't big enough for a full fledged football game. There was a park right across the street from the house so that's where everyone headed. Music was brought along and then the real fun began. Jack got into the game as well. The football game started out slow, but once the Lyons family got into the swing of things, (just like when we were kids) the cheering began and people were screaming for the different players to do well.

Even the neighbors came out to see what was going on. Soon, even the 15th (those that had to work) were showing up to see who was winning. Jenna was one of the best runners in our family and the only thing the members of the 15th saw when they pulled up was her streaking by, running to her team's end zone. Though, most of the Lyons family was wishing that it was raining. A mud football game was better than a dry football game. The kids that were too young to play were cheering on there siblings, parents and aunts and uncles.

It was no longer a family football game. It was a full out football game between family and anyone that wanted to join the game. It was Sunday, and even though most people were inside watching football on there on TV's, there were also a lot of people that were turning there TV's off and coming out to play the game. This is how it had been like when we were kids. Everytime we held a football game in the park, all the neighbors would come out and play as well. So it always ended up being Lyons family against the neighborhood. This was what our family was all about. As soon as I was healed and well on the mend, I was definitely going to be participating in the game, that was for sure. It was a tradition that was going to stay in the family, no matter what.

When six thirty came around, the game had all but ended. People went back into there houses, and my family broke off and went there separate ways, back to there own houses. Jenna's boyfriend had participated in the game and had seen how tight the family was just by playing the game. When nearly everyone had left for there own homes, Jack made sure he and I were alone for a few minutes before he also left. He told me that he would be there for me, no matter what. He told me that he would wait for the divorce to be finalized before taking me out on a date. The last thing he told me was that he expected me to be at work, two weeks from Monday to start. That we had a lot of work to do to get the dogs used to me all over again.

He left after that comment, leaving Kumi & Jep in my care, knowing that I would treat them like my own kids like I had when I was growing up and raising them. Tomorrow was definitely going to be a new day and the family was going to have to get used to me not living in the same house anymore. Michael let me know that even though I would be moving just down the street; my room would always be open, no matter what.

Life felt like it was getting back on track, for the time being at least. Now all I had to do was buy the house down the street, get the divorce started and finalized at the same time, get full custody of my daughters, start my new job, get the kids used to sleeping in there own rooms again, and well, just start learning, that no matter what, I was safe and Jonathan was never going to hurt me or the kids ever again. We were safe and we were going to stay safe. And I had a feeling that it wouldn't take long for Jack to ask me out as soon as the divorce was finalized.

There was something in Jack's voice today that told me that me that he had been thinking about me since I left for New York nearly ten years ago. And I was wishing that he had followed me as well and stopped me from doing something stupid, like meeting Jonathan and marrying him. The kids still would have been born, but they would have been Jack's kids, not Jonathan's. Yeah, my mind wasn't going to sleep until I was back in a house of my own, that was for sure.


	5. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

To anyone that is reading my new story for Rookie Blue called: Time To Leave The Nest.

The site is jumbling my words together and putting them as one big word. I do not know why that it is doing this and I'm not pulling it down just to update it when it doesn't do it on my computer. There are a few other stories that the site is doing it to and I also have no reason for it. Please, I will try and get it taken care of, but I was just letting you know that the site was jumbling the words together not me!


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